Members of the institute will be saddened to hear of the death of Mervyn Madge, a former chairman of the institute. Mervyn was a familiar figure in pharmacy, endowed with boundless energy, and the institute was just one of his many active interests.

At the time of his death, he held the position of one of the institute’s Vice Presidents. Although the post was largely advisory, he continued to take an active interest in the institute and its council, corresponding by means of comments and suggestions through the medium of his uniquely idiosyncratic typewriter.

He regretted that he was unable to travel to meetings in latter times but in the past he had for many years organised an IPMI reception at the British Pharmaceutical Conference.

It was held at the beginning of the conference and invitations were keenly sought — you knew the conference had only truly begun after Mervyn, sherry in hand, had stood on a table, welcomed all comers and extolled the virtues of institute membership.

He was himself a Fellow of the Institute and one of the few remaining founder members from 1964. His huge enthusiasm for pharmacy and his contribution to many organisations will be the thing for which he will most be remembered. The Institute has been fortunate over the years to have had the unswerving support of such a unique gentleman of pharmacy and his passing will be much mourned.

MARGARET MARTIN writes:

I was saddened to read of the death of Mervyn Madge. He seemed immortal. I remember him well from meetings in Plymouth, and when I did a locum at the Co-operative Chemists in St Budeaux. He did much work in promoting homeopathy.